Short Interest in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Increases By 40.3%

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,181,956 shares, a growth of 40.3% from the January 15th total of 842,698 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 631,965 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 631,965 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Institutional Trading of Orion

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CenterBook Partners LP raised its holdings in Orion by 53.9% in the 2nd quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 294,093 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,085,000 after purchasing an additional 103,021 shares during the period. Harvey Partners LLC increased its position in Orion by 15.5% in the second quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 2,424,995 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $25,438,000 after buying an additional 325,995 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new position in shares of Orion in the second quarter worth about $675,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in Orion by 698.1% during the 2nd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 132,424 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,389,000 after acquiring an additional 115,831 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Orion during the second quarter valued at approximately $575,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on OEC. Zacks Research raised Orion from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Mizuho set a $6.00 target price on shares of Orion in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Orion in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Orion from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Orion from $9.00 to $5.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus price target of $5.67.

Orion Stock Up 1.8%

OEC traded up $0.13 during trading on Monday, hitting $7.12. 680,608 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 605,830. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Orion has a 12-month low of $4.34 and a 12-month high of $16.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $399.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.27 and a beta of 1.06.

Orion Company Profile

Orion Engineered Carbons SA, operating as Orion (NYSE: OEC), is a global producer of carbon black, a critical performance additive used to enhance the strength, durability and conductivity of various materials. The company’s products chiefly serve the tire and rubber industry, where carbon black imparts wear resistance and longevity, as well as the plastics, coatings, inks and battery components markets, where specialty grades deliver tailored conductivity and color properties.

Orion’s product portfolio is organized into two core segments: Rubber and Specialty and Chemical Specialties.